The Lake of the Woods District Hospital board welcomed four new members appointed in June at its first monthly meeting going into the autumn session on Thursday, Sept 7. The appointees are Dave Segerts, Irwin Stachs, Jennifer McKibbon and Carolyn Kokokopenace.

Among the first orders of business, board members viewed the informative video Effective Governance for Quality and Patient Safety Education Program for Ontario hospital boards. The video featured an interview with University of Toronto physician Dr. Ross Baker who noted in setting strategic objectives for patient safety and quality care, the dividing line between hospital policies and operations is not “as clear cut” as it would seem.

“Budgets are tight and many boards are not properly equipped to set strategic goals for high quality care,” Dr. Baker observed, adding hospital boards need to have members familiar with standard accounting procedures and the ability to understand hospital balance sheets to lead the strategic planning process.

By way of clarification for members new to the board, hospital CEO Mark Balcaen referred to the hospital’s Quality Improvement Plan which addresses issues relating to patient safety and quality care. Balcaen noted the plan is updated annually to compare local patient issues to provincial priorities in areas such as wait times and hospital infection rates and to set strategic goals accordingly. The plan is posted on the hospital website: www.lwdh.on.ca.

“We’ve set some pretty ambitious targets,” he said, adding he hospital has been able to achieve the majority of its goals.

Hospital renovations on track

Hospital vice-president of patient services Cindy Gasporini provided board members and local media with an update of the approximately $10 million hospital renovation program currently underway and on track for completion by late spring/early summer of 2018.

She related the new mechanical room addition constructed on the roof of the Emergency Department is finished with new hospital mechanical and electrical services in place. Parts of the hospital’s second floor are now boarded off to staff and public while contractors are at work. Meanwhile, the closure of an operating room will see certain procedures, such as cataract surgeries move to a temporary location on the fourth floor.

On a separate but related matter. Gasporini mentioned hospital foundation fundraising efforts for CT Scanner replacement is progressing well with more than $800,000 raised for the $1.2 million purchase. She confirmed the equipment has been ordered and is scheduled for installation in November once renovations to the area where it will be located are completed.

Gasporini and Balcaen were also pleased to relate predictions of a zero deficit budget once again for 2017. They credited successful efforts by the hospital board and the Northwest LHIN working with the Ministry of Health over the past several years to secure a provincial increase of $1.4 million annually (retroactive to 2016) to the hospital’s base budget, plus an additional one per cent increase in provincial funding has enabled the hospital to return to financial stability.

Operational review underway

Benchmark Intelligence Group (BIG) partner Adam Topp made a brief presentation on the independent operational review his company is undertaking on behalf of the board. Topp is leading the team of nine consultants who will conduct the review of Lake of the Woods Hospital operations over the coming months. The final report is expected to be completed early next year.

“The expertise of the team is quite substantial, including at least one doctor,” CEO Balcaen commented. “They recently completed a similar review at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and the company has done a considerable amount of work in the North and Southern Ontario hospitals.”